Plans for a monorail to solve the town's notorious traffic congestion have been debated on and off for the last five years, and barely two years ago a £22,000 feasibility study found that it was highly unlikely such a scheme could succeed on a purely commercial basis.

The new investigation, proposed by Guildford Partnership Area Transportation Committee on Wednesday, would be the third study looking at the viability of an ultra light rail scheme for Guildford within the last four years and will cost taxpayers £30,000.

Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council will split the cost of the study.

Guildford-based company Carr West withdrew its proposal for a variable level rail system in December last year. Its scheme would have run from the Slyfield Green industrial estate into the town centre and across to the hospital, but because of uncertainty over the future of the plan and a lack of support from councillors, it was dropped. The committee, comprising borough and county councillors, agreed to commission a study by the Woking-based MVA Consultancy to look at the various types of ultra light rail schemes on offer.

MVA was the company that completed the previous studies which found that Carr West's scheme wasn't financially viable. Paul Millin, from the county council's passenger transport group, said the council would work very closely with MVA and provide it with ideas and information to help with the study.

But he added: "I do not honestly think this study will put the two authorities into a position to put a tender out, but it will be at the stage prior to that." The study will review current ultra light rail technology, the method of propulsion, vehicle types, capacity and the safety and security of any potential scheme. All the systems will be compared and evaluated for the cost and time it would take to put in place.

The positive and negative aspects of putting a light rail system into an urban environment and the environmental impact on Guildford will also be considered and reported back. The chairman of the committee, Bill Barker (Con, Horsleys) said: "I have concerns that come October we might not be in a better position to move forward positively with an outcome that will serve us well."

Carr West engineer John Baker said that its scheme, which was dropped by the company, was a viable option for the town but that any scheme would require a public subsidy to work.

After the meeting, Mr Millin said all light rail options would be looked at, though trams had been previously discounted.